Adding to the chorus of praise...

Rating: Null/10 (7 September 2003)

Prior to its belated opening in this country, I remember seeing the trailer for this flick many months ago - in late 2002 - and thinking just how damned average it looked. The trailer seemed to make the film look very poor indeed, and revealed nothing of the inherent nastiness and desolation this film so brilliantly portrayed. With the benefit of hindsight, I must say that that disappointment was not such a bad thing  my lowly expectations were completely blown away after seeing this film. I'm pleased that I wasn't turned off completely, because I would have denied myself a treat.
Reviewers here have oft criticised the films' supposed lack originality. The opening moments of a naked Jim waking up to an empty world, and eventually finding two survivors, is clearly reminiscent of the brilliant New Zealand film 'The Quiet Earth' (1985). And running zombies were depicted in Bava's 'Demoni' (1985). Sure, it borrows elements of this film and that. But how many films can one see these days that doesn't borrow a bit of this and a bit of that? What makes this an absolute stand out is its capacity to reel out the tension and never let up. I found the tension relentless, to the point of almost finding it difficult to watch. The infected zombies actually frightened me, by the twisted and speedy way they moved and the ghastly noises they made. Also, its portrayal of despair and hopelessness was quite rare, and extremely effective. It worked well, and the cinema audience I was a part of looked rather shell-shocked at the end of the film. Amusing!
The addition of humour in these types of films can sometimes seem corny. But the couple of humorous moments provide the audience with some nervous reprieve from the horror, rather than an unnecessary distraction. A couple of plot flaws are forgivable  e.g. why was the deserted supermarket lit up like a Christmas tree if the power was supposedly cut? But these are inconsequential in the bigger picture. The addition of the journey to the Fort Knox like army barracks and the barbaric soldiers seemed logical in terms of plot. In my opinion, it provided an interesting and perfectly reasonable comparison to the barbarism and desperation of the 'infected' outside the compound. So what if it stank of ideas already shown in Romero's 'Day of the Dead' (1985)  it simply worked.
Hats off to the British for producing a fantastic addition to the zombie genre. This is most unlike the terrible mess the Australian film 'Undead' (2003) was. Incidentally, both films opened here on the same day! I'm at risk of sounding most un-patriotic here, but that film isn't a shade on this. I'm excited at the increasing quality of British horror. None of this flashy Hollywood-like horror nonsense here, and thank goodness for that.
Given this films' inherent nastiness, it's interesting to note that the Australian censors only saw fit to assign this film an MA15+ rating, rather than an R18+. I thought it was definitely pushing the envelope...wouldn't let my kids watch it.